Week 3.. Moving Right Along

Its been a crazy past two weeks and I've tried not to let the 'snowpocalypse' slow me down, but it has. I was all set to move in this past weekend, but because of the snow, it had put a lot of things on hold. So far, all that's left to be completed is the flooring, appliances to be installed and having my furniture delivered. New move-in date is this weekend, as long as everything stays according to plan this week lol.

In the meantime, my cousin, Rachael, flew in from Boston for my birthday / Super Bowl weekend. Needless to say, we had a blast even though we were snowed in together most of her trip here. We finally got to escape on Super Bowl / Birthday Sunday and we made sure to party it up since she was flying out the next day. We went out to dinner at Outback, went to party the first half of the game at my sisters with some Hurricanes and then went elsewhere to finish up the game and the night. Hallelujah: the SAINTS won just for me on my bday <3 It's a WHO DAT NATION!







Last week, after we were able to GET to my house, a lot has been done. Most of the painting is done, all the walls are patched up and most of my ceiling lights/fans have been installed. I have my first room that is done completely: the bathroom.. I'm so happy, it looks great! That was a huge project in itself to get fully completed... I needed major things like walls, insulation, light, exhaust fan, plumbing pipes to be replaced, a mirror and finishing the flooring, oh and paint. It feels good to finally have at least ONE whole room finished.




Other things that have been done this week, the windows were replaced, got a new door, fixed LOTS of electrical/wiring chaos and my brother Jose has begun to install my alarm system.

Messy Living Room


Living Room Again..


Hallway


Master Bedroom


Spare Bedroom #1 (Former Yellow Room)


Spare Bedroom #2 (Former Green Room)


Laundry Room



Kitchen



I'm so excited to be so close to being finished... I'm ALMOST there!!!! Can't wait for everyone to come see the finished product of my house becoming a home :)
*Miss Complicated

Happy Homeowner

Its official.. I now own a house and I'm completely in love with it.

I went to settlement on Friday and about an hour later I was in my new house, celebrating and getting to work. This house was a foreclosure, so it had nothing.. literally. No water, no furnace/ac, no appliances, nada. I was blessed enough that my brother, Andy, is a AC/Heat man and was available to get in there to begin installing the AC/furnace that night.

My dad :)

Day One: Even through the snow, I had about 5 people come over to help getting to work with some major things that needed to be done. Andy continued to work on the furnace/ac, I had a friend doing some electrical work and re-wiring a lot of things throughout the house, while two other friends and myself ripped up all the carpet, tack strips, nails and staples. Now that was a tiring tedious job.. took us about 5 hours to get it all done. We worked through the cold, thankfully my parents brought over a Propane Heater so it wasn't unbearable inside, lol. Andy stayed through most of the evening and was diligent about getting some heat pumping through the house. My brother is remarkable, I don't know any other ac/heat person that would have accomplished all that he did in that short amount of time. End of day one and we had HEAT :)

After pulling up carpet.. tons of staples to remove

This was our source of heat.. thank goodness for it!

Rich busy fixing the wiring of the house

No running water = no bathroom.. so here was our make-shift potty lol

End of the day... ready to GO. I'm sitting in the sink b/c there was nowhere to sit, haha

Ok, and now I was just a little bored and delirious...

My momma aka Renovation Supervisor ;)

Day Two: Started off the morning helping my dad shovel snow, which is always fun.. not. Then we adventured to my new favorite store - Lowes. lol. We got a lot of supplies we needed and I bought all my paint. After grabbing some grub, we went to my house and I learned a new trade.. I started mudding holes in the wall, putting wood-filler in the doorways, and painted most of the corners of the house. A friend of the family, Kenny, got straight to work and knocked out the wall some more that is between the kitchen and living room. It looks GREAT. He then pulled up all the baseboards, and linoleum around the house. The plumber came out and turned my water on and got it all working!! Jose and Dylan stopped in on their way home from walmart and brought me hand soap, a dust pan and a toilet seat, haha. I know, random items, but all were gravely needed since we now had running water. Well the dust pan was needed to clean up all the piles that were accumulating, Gotta keep the house clean even though we're in demolition mode lol.

Wonderful source of heat <3

Bye-Bye Wall

My fully functioning potty =D

All in all, it was a very productive weekend and I am deeply thankful and grateful that I have so much love and so many people that are willing to help.

*Miss Complicated

My Future House.. The "Before" Stage

Here's the pictures I took yesterday when we went to inspect my future house :) Keep in mind, there are lots of things that are going to be done to it, so this will be considered the "Before" pictures. Enjoy!!!

Front

Back

The view from the front door

Living Room

Hallway

Kitchen (with my dad in it)

Kitchen Again

Bedroom #1 (don't worry, I'm painting!)

Bedroom #2 (a little too bright)

Master Bedroom - So Purrty

(all the floors are hardwood underneath the carpet, and I'm going to have it all refinished)

Bathroom

Cellar

Back Yard

That's all for now, you can be sure to see more pictures in the future of my little work in progress. We're aiming to be all done by the end of February, so be sure to keep an eye out for your invitation to a housewarming party ;)

*Miss Quite Simple

LaPlata, Here I Come...

Tuesday, Jan. 19th

As you may or may not know, I have been shopping around for a house these past few months. I finally found one that stands out and am making an offer on it (along with several other people that are submitting offers). As soon as I seen it, I fell in love with it and am really praying that this works out. It needs a little work done to it, but I like the idea of being able to customizing it to be my own. I'm also looking forward to the work going into it and getting everything fixed and settled in.... call me crazy but I think it's going to be fun. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but so far, I'm having a hard time keeping it under control, lol. I will keep you all updated on the status when I find out whether this is the one God has in store for me ;)

2 Hours Later...

Just got word, my offer has been accepted on the house in LaPlata :D

Today- Wednesday, Jan. 20th

I'm heading over there this morning to go take pictures and taking my parents with me so we can all give it a good look-over and get a few things decided upon. I'll be posting pictures later on today!!!! Looks like I'm returning to Charles County afterall!!! Wooo Hooooo :)

New Year in Paradise

Bequia - An island in St. Vincent & The Grenadines

This is where I spent the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, Paradise.

It was totally unexpected and spontaneous of a trip. My parents went to Bequia to celebrate my mom's 50th birthday and New Years. December 30th came and I got an email saying to pack a bathing suit and flip flops, because the next day (new years eve), my sister and I were going to be flying out to meet them and vacation with them for five days. There was so much to take care of, but I'm not going to complain or say "no" when a great opportunity like this unfolds. We ran around like chickens with our heads cut off to get everything squared away to leave the next day. Needless-to-say, it was totally worth it and absolutely breath-taking of an adventure.

We got there December 31st in the afternoon, got a tour of the island on our way to our parents' place, then began getting ready for the island festivities of "Old Years Night" (this is what they called our "New Years Eve". It was amazing. Beautiful clear blue water, white sandy beaches, a steel drum band playing, excellent food, never-ending drinks, and the best company filled with love and laughter to bring in the New Year.

On one of our adventures out and about, we went to the turtle farm. It was too cool to see all the little baby turtles. They rescue the turtle eggs from the beach, bring them to the turtle farm and care for them there for five years until they are ready to be released back into the wild ocean.

Awww cute little hatchling baby turtles!!

Danielle and I soaked up the sun, got to relax, and recharge to bring in the new year and we were sad to have to leave. While we were leaving, on January 5th, my parents got to stay for another week and enjoy their time together in this gorgeous piece of earth. I am truly blessed and grateful for the life God has provided and the best parents I could have ever asked for. I throughly enjoy their company and our fellowship together, and there is no where else I'd rather have spent the end 2009 and the first moments of 2010. Thanks Mom & Dad, you're the greatest :)

Cheeseburger in Paradise

I've never seen a papaya before! This is what the inside looks like.. with LOTS of seeds

First drinks of the night: Painkilllers (YUMM)

Swimming in the rain

My favorite flower, the Plumeria

Me & Dad

Me & Momma

Mmmmm Beeeerrrrrrrrr

Soaking it alllllll in ;)

Our View:

The morning Danielle and I were flying out.. my MY it was windy!

Until next time....

*Miss Quite Simple